Confused choice seen in portfolios

Press, 26 July 1984, Page 3

Confused choice seen in portfolios

PA Wellington The outgoing Prime Minister, Sir Robert Muldoon, believes the allocation of responsibilities in the new Labour Cabinet reflects the inexperience of the incoming Administration. He said in an interview that Mr Lange had made the same error as did a former Labour Prime Minister, Mr Norman Kirk, in artificially dividing portfolios, “ending up with a state of confusion.” “I think the divisions in the Finance portfolio are wrong. It is wrong to have trade and industry and finance together. The Minister will do neither effectively,” Sir Robert said. The member of Parliament for St Albans, Mr Caygill, has been nominated Minister of Trade and Industry and one of two Associate Ministers of Finance. Sir Robert said it was wrong to have Inland Revenue in the hands of the principal finance policymaker as it was a complex and time-consuming portfolio. The incoming Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, will also be Minister in charge of the Inland Revenue Department. Sir Robert said it was not obvious to combine the Statistics and Energy portfolios. Statistics would be better combined with Finance. A former Minister of Finance, Mr Tizard, has been allocated both Statistics and Energy as well as Science and Technology. “These are decisions, I think, of inexperience. They will not make for a smoothrunning Finance portfolio,” Sir Robert said.